How to Use CrOx, Red Paste, and Black Paste to Maintain Your Edge?

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Finally I have ordered Dovo green red and black pastes + TI green paste . I,m planning to use a denim strop for crox as I don't want to ruin a linen. In order to use red paste you should use a rough side of a leather strop. At the moment I have a W/Dog travel strop and I'm planning to dedicate it to pastes.
Now my question is Do you have to do any prep (SANDING Etc. ) before using it for RED paste?
Do you need to do any cleaning of the denim, and leather strops to remove the residues?

Thanks

Once you put CrOx and/or the Red paste and/or the Black paste on a strop whether it's leather or fabric it's permanent. You'll never get it completely out. Forget about it.

I use the Red paste on the slick side of its dedicated strop (small red board strop). I use the Black paste on the slick side of its dedicated strop (bottom strop, black).

With all of these pastes use far less than you think you need. There are videos showing how to use the CrOx, but some of the videos use about ten or twenty times the amount you need to apply. Under do the application. It's easy to add more (a little more) if you need to.

Carefully clean the razor between pasted strops and after pasted strops. I wash with soap and water and am careful, very careful, with the edge of the edge.

Few laps are needed with pasted strops.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Lord Fatboy]

Finally I have ordered Dovo green red and black pastes + TI green paste . I,m planning to use a denim strop for crox as I don't want to ruin a linen. In order to use red paste you should use a rough side of a leather strop. At the moment I have a W/Dog travel strop and I'm planning to dedicate it to pastes.
Now my question is Do you have to do any prep (SANDING Etc. ) before using it for RED paste?
Do you need to do any cleaning of the denim, and leather strops to remove the residues?

Thanks

I like to apply the paste is tiny amounts then build up from there. So, instead of covering the whole surface, which looks cool admittedly, maybe best to make small spirals, squares or crosses on the surface.

 

[Rschan]

Thanks. Initially I was under the impression that I have to apply red paste on the rough side of the strop(suede side) and black on the slick side. Have any body tried that ?

 

[Alum of Potash]

The puma green paste is not crox. But it contains crox, but also (alot) of other abrasives like aluminum oxide, i emailed puma about the green paste a while back asked about the grit rating of the paste, and got a list of what it contains from them because they had no idea what grit rating it has. don't know where that email is now, but I can try to find it if you want the same information I got. From what I have heard here on the forum it is rated at about 6 microns. If I'm not mistaken.

This sounds about right for the Puma crayon, as the Herold/Solingen green tube stuff is similarly rated as coarser than the red tube stuff. My take is that these are hard to rate as they can vary depending on how much has been applied and how deeply the paste settles into the leather surface. I've always been advised to use leather with some tooth, presumably to increase the amount of paste being used. For those who advocate a light paste application with the Solingen pastes, I would suggest studying some of the already-pasted loom and scored balsa strops coming from Herold production. These are all rather heavily-pasted, or at least with enough to color the surface comepletely.

 

[ajduplessis]

Thanks. Initially I was under the impression that I have to apply red paste on the rough side of the strop(suede side) and black on the slick side. Have any body tried that ?

IME all abrasive paste sink into the strop material and the rougher the surface the less effective the cutting will be. Any honing/stropping should be done and flat smooth surface. It also does not have to be expensive leather either.

 

[Rschan]

IME all abrasive paste sink into the strop material and the rougher the surface the less effective the cutting will be. Any honing/stropping should be done and flat smooth surface. It also does not have to be expensive leather either.

But the green should go to a loom strop if I understand correctly ?

 

[Gaznix]

I personally use the pastes on balsa wood that’s been glued to a piece of smooth perfectly flat stone.

 

[Rschan]

Unfortunately I have misplaced my balsa.Apart from my TM linen felt I have a home made denim strop . So I think it should be good with CrOx/puma paste. I'm yet to decide whether it's Puma or a CrOx from UK based seller in the Bay.

 

[Willem-Jan]

This sounds about right for the Puma crayon, as the Herold/Solingen green tube stuff is similarly rated as coarser than the red tube stuff. My take is that these are hard to rate as they can vary depending on how much has been applied and how deeply the paste settles into the leather surface. I've always been advised to use leather with some tooth, presumably to increase the amount of paste being used. For those who advocate a light paste application with the Solingen pastes, I would suggest studying some of the already-pasted loom and scored balsa strops coming from Herold production. These are all rather heavily-pasted, or at least with enough to color the surface comepletely.

true: I have a Puma loom strop (I think this particular model is offered by several brands) and the green side was, well, really green. I never use it though.

 

[Lord Fatboy]

This sounds about right for the Puma crayon, as the Herold/Solingen green tube stuff is similarly rated as coarser than the red tube stuff. My take is that these are hard to rate as they can vary depending on how much has been applied and how deeply the paste settles into the leather surface. I've always been advised to use leather with some tooth, presumably to increase the amount of paste being used. For those who advocate a light paste application with the Solingen pastes, I would suggest studying some of the already-pasted loom and scored balsa strops coming from Herold production. These are all rather heavily-pasted, or at least with enough to color the surface comepletely.

I actually agree with that on the Solingen pastes inspite of what I said earlier, though it's hard to tell *our* methods vs industrial methods.
Most of the strop makers tend to roll their pastes on to the surface, getting it more thin and even than we ever could, not without a good deal of effort, guesswork & experiment.

For years all my pastes have come from a wee man in England that makes them - very well and inexpensive - in his kitchen. His are quite potent, so my recommendations are probably best applied to his products, lol.

Of course, we've all seen Mastro Livi apply his own paste...

 

[Willem-Jan]

I actually agree with that on the Solingen pastes inspite of what I said earlier, though it's hard to tell *our* methods vs industrial methods.
Most of the strop makers tend to roll their pastes on to the surface, getting it more thin and even than we ever could, not without a good deal of effort, guesswork & experiment.

For years all my pastes have come from a wee man in England that makes them - very well and inexpensive - in his kitchen. His are quite potent, so my recommendations are probably best applied to his products, lol.

Of course, we've all seen Mastro Livi apply his own paste...
View attachment 1022477

A wee man in England?
Love the Futurama meme btw, although also that statement is debatable

 

[Rschan]

true: I have a Puma loom strop (I think this particular model is offered by several brands) and the green side was, well, really green. I never use it though.

Is this puma green product stored in plastic tube pretty small just Like the Herold red/back paste ?

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Is this puma green product stored in plastic tube pretty small just Like the Herold red/back paste ?

Probably not, but I'm not entirely sure what that particular green product is.

In my experience looking these things up over and over and searching various sources, etc. the micron and grit stuff is very hard to get a handle on. Information is not entirely reliable and not so very consistent.

Most of the useful stuff I've found is summarized in the top post in this thread, but I'm not trying to claim expertise.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Rschan]

Probably not, but I'm not entirely sure what that particular green product is.

In my experience looking these things up over and over and searching various sources, etc. the micron and grit stuff is very hard to get a handle on. Information is not entirely reliable and not so very consistent.

Most of the useful stuff I've found is summarized in the top post in this thread, but I'm not trying to claim expertise.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Jim I was referring to the size of it. I received a packet of Herold paste today and it is so small .
I was expecting something bigger.Don't know how long it will last. I'm looking for a sizable and quality CrOx stick.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Jim I was referring to the size of it. I received a packet of Herold paste today and it is so small .
I was expecting something bigger.Don't know how long it will last. I'm looking for a sizable and quality CrOx stick.

I believe I misread your post. Sorry about that.

The CrOx stick I purchased from Shave Nation is huge. It would last a dozen of us a hundred years I believe. Is it top tier quality? I'm not sure. It seems okay to me, but there may be some far better.

 

[Scarry Knight]

@Rschan - The Solingen strop conditioner is the same size as their other pastes, I suspect-a finger’s length. I got three or four treatments to one 3” and one travel strop, out of my small tube of conditioner (without grit), and then I blended my own and refilled the tube. It is only a blend of leather treating oils in the yellow tube, not abrasive paste, but I believe it to be same size tubes as the red and black, if that helps.

If near a highway truck stop, they will have all color of wax bar polishing compounds for a truck’s brightwork and aluminum components. I use a red bar left over from my trucking days.

 

[Rschan]

Thank you gentlemen. Now I have 1 packet of Herold paste and I'm expecting to buy a TI paste for finishing.Can any body tell me how long this Herold paste will last ?

My target is to do a razor with barber hones and pastes up to finishing.

 

[Willem-Jan]

Is this puma green product stored in plastic tube pretty small just Like the Herold red/back paste ?

It is like a crayon in a plastic cylinder.

 

[Rschan]

It is like a crayon in a plastic cylinder.

how long will it (The stick) last under normal usage ?

 

[Willem-Jan]

how long will it (The stick) last under normal usage ?

I am not one to ask I am afraid. I got that stick together with my first razor and a loom strop. I dont like using either, though the paste does kinda work. Still, I prefer the paste that they give you with the titan razor actually. But I am not a paste guy. I suppose the stick would last long enough for cost not to be a concern.